I wonder…..

When we are born, our mothers get the compliments and the flowers.When we are married, our brides get the presents and the publicity.When we die, our widows get the life insurance.What do women want to be liberated from?

LEARNING TO LIVE WITHOUT RECOGNITION IS A SKILL

The PIG & Horse tale

There was a farmer who collected horses; he only needed one more breed to complete his collection. One day, he found out that his neighbor had the particular horse breed he needed. So, he constantly bothered his neighbor until he sold it to him. A month later, the horse became ill and he called the veterinarian, who said: – Well, your horse has a virus. He must take this medicine for three days. I’ll come back on the 3rd day and if he’s not better, we’re going to have to put him down.

Nearby, the pig listened closely to their conversation.

The next day, they gave him the medicine and left. The pig approached the horse and said: – Be strong, my friend. Get up or else they’re going to put you to sleep!

On the second day, they gave him the medicine and left. The pig came back and said: – Come on buddy, get up or else you’re going to die! Come on, I’ll help you get up. Let’s go! One, two, three…

On the third day, they came to give him the medicine and the vet said: – Unfortunately, we’re going to have to put him down tomorrow. Otherwise, the virus might spread and infect the other horses.

After they left, the pig approached the horse and said: Listen pal, it’s now or never! Get up, come on! Have courage! Come on! Get up! Get up! That’s it, slowly! Great! Come on, one, two, three… Good, good. Now faster, come on…. Fantastic! Run, run more!
Yes! Yay! Yes! You did it, you’re a champion!!!

All of a sudden, the owner came back, saw the horse running in the field and began shouting: – It’s a miracle! My horse is cured. This deserves a party. Let’s kill the pig!

Points for reflection: This often happens in the workplace. Nobody truly knows which employee actually deserves the merit of success, or who’s actually contributing the necessary support to make things happen.

Too Busy for a Friend . Think Twice

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other
students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between
each name.
 
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about
each of their classmates and write it down.
 
It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment,
and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.
 
 
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a
separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about
that individual.
 
On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the
entire class was smiling. 'Really?' she heard whispered. 'I never knew
that I meant anything to anyone!' and, 'I didn't know others liked me
so much,' were most of the comments.
 
No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if
they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't
matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were
happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved
on.
 
Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student.
She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked
so handsome, so mature.
 
The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him
took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless
the coffin.
 
As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came
up to her. 'Were you Mark's math teacher?' he asked. She nodded:
'yes.' Then he said: 'Mark talked about you a lot.'
 
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a
luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to
speak with his teacher.
 
'We want to show you something,' his father said, taking a wallet out
of his pocket 'They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought
you might recognize it.'
 
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook
paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times.
The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on
which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had
said about him.
 
'Thank you so much for doing that,' Mark's mother said. 'As you can
see, Mark treasured it.'
 
All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie
smiled rather sheepishly and said, 'I still have my list. It's in the
top drawer of my desk at home.'
 
Chuck's wife said, 'Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album.'
 
'I have mine too,' Marilyn said. 'It's in my diary'
 
Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out
her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. 'I
carry this with me at all times,' Vicki said and without batting an
eyelash, she continued: 'I think we all saved our lists'
 
That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark
and for all his friends who would never see him again.
 
The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life
will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be.
 
So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are
special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.

WHEN I DECIDED TO QUIT…….

One day I decided to quit…
I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality…
I wanted to quit my life.

I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

“God”, I said. “Can you give me one good reason not to quit?”

His answer surprised me…

“Look around”, He said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”
“Yes”, I replied.

When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them.
I gave them light. I gave them water.
The fern quickly grew from the earth.
Its brilliant green covered the floor.
Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed.
But I did not quit on the bamboo.
In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.
And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed.
But I did not quit on the bamboo. He said.
“In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. “I would not quit.” He said. “Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth.
Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant… But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.
It had spent the five years growing roots.
Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.”

He said to me. “Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots.”
“I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don’t compare yourself to others …” He said. The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern … Yet, they both make the forest beautiful.”
Your time will come, God said to me. You will rise high!

How high should I rise?” I asked.

How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return.
“As high as it can? I questioned.

Yes. ” He said, “Give me glory by rising as high as you can.

I left the forest and bring back this story.

I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.
Never regret a day in your life.

Good days give you happiness;
Bad days give you experiences;
Both are essential to life.

Happiness keeps you Sweet!
Trials keep you Strong!!

Sorrows keep you Human!
Failures keep you Humble!!

Success keeps You Glowing!
But Only God keeps You Going!!

SLOW DOWN….

“It’s been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for
them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2
years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It’s a
rule.”

Globalized processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense
of searching for immediate results.. Therefore, we have come to posses a
need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow
movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate,
hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end,
this always yields better results.

1. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants..
2. Stockholm has 500,000 people.
3. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, are some of its renowned
companies. Volvo even supplies NASA.

The first time I was in Sweden , one of my colleagues picked me up at the
hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive
early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000
employees drive their car to work).

The first day, I didn’t say anything, neither the second or third days. One
morning I asked him, “Do you have a fixed parking space?

I’ve noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other
cars in the lot.”

To which he replied, “Since we’re here early we’ll have time to walk, don’t
you think that whoever gets in late will need a place closer to the door?”
Imagine my face.

Nowadays, there’s a movement in Europe named Slow Food. This movement
establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to
taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing.
Slow Food is against its counterpart, Fast Food and what it stands for as a
lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis
for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week.

Basically, the movement questions the sense of “hurry” and “craziness”
generated by globalization, fuelled by the desire of “having in quantity”
(life status) versus “having with quality”, “life quality” or the “quality
of being”.

French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive
than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and
have seen their productivity driven up by 20%..

This slow attitude has come to the notice of USA , the pupils of the fast
and “do it now” brigade.

This no-rush attitude doesn’t represent doing less or having a lower
productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality,
productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. It
means re-establishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking
the “now”, present and concrete, versus the “global”, undefined and
anonymous. It means taking humans’ essential values, the simplicity of
living.
It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and
more productive work place where humans enjoy doing what they know best how
to do.

It’s time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious
quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of
products and services, without losing the essence.

In the movie, ‘Scent of a Woman’, there’s a scene where Al Pacino asks a
girl to dance and she replies, “I can’t, my boyfriend will be here any
minute now”. To which Al Pacino responds, “A life is lived in an instant”.
Then they dance the tango!

Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we
die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others
are so anxious to live for the future that they forget to live the present,
which is the only time that truly exists.

We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The
difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live
each moment. As John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re
busy making other plans”.

Congratulations for reading this till the end of this message. There
are many who will have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in
this “Globalized” world..

What do we miss everyday?

In Washington DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007,
this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During
that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them
on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that
there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few
seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat
and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At 6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his
watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The
kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and
the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action
was repeated by several other children, but every parent – without exception
- forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a
short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal
pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one
applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest
musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever
written, with a Stradivarius violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days
before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged
$100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the DC Metro
Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment
about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we
perceive beauty?

*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognise talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians
in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the
most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

Chinese Spend as Americans Save

Surprising many experts, Chinese car sales have become higher this year than in America. The demand for purchasing a vehicle is so high that there are long waiting lists for the most popular models of cars.

After years of huge spending and consumption, Americans are reacting to the recession in a frugal manner. In China, however, spending has grown steadily on an increasing number of consumer goods. The market in China has surpassed the U.S. for items including cars, washing machines and dishwashers.

For China’s population of 1.3 billion people, larger incomes are finally allowing a large number of consumers to purchase big-ticket items.

How long will this level of consumption last? The Beijing government is helping it along by allowing rebates, subsidies and heavy bank lending.

Automakers are hoping to sell around 12.8 million cars and small trucks in China this year, all manufactured in China. Appliance manufacturers are estimating 185 million sales of refrigerators, washing machines and other general appliances compared with only 137 million in America.

Chinese banks are playing a large role in consumer spending by financing double the amount of loans throughout China. Credit card spending has risen 40% since the beginning of the year.

However, this prosperity based on lending may be leading to problems in the future economy.

What goes around comes around

His   name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer.   One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog.  He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There,   mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy,   screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer   fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow   and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

‘I want to repay you,’ said the nobleman. ‘You saved my son’s life.’

‘No, I can’t accept payment for what I did,’ the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door of the family hovel.

‘Is that your son?’ the nobleman asked.

‘Yes,’   the farmer replied proudly.

‘I’ll   make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of   education my own son will enjoy if the lad is anything like his father, he’ll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.’ And that he did.

Farmer   Fleming’s  son attended the very best schools and  in  time, graduated from St. Mary’s  Hospital  Medical  School in London, and went on to become known  throughout   the world as the noted Sir Alexander  Fleming, the  discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman’s son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What   saved his life this time?   Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill… His son’s name?

Sir Winston Churchill.

Someone   once said: What goes around comes around.

Work like you don’t need the money.

Love like you’ve never been hurt.

Dance like nobody’s watching.

Sing like nobody’s listening.

Live like its Heaven on Earth.

Pass this on, and brighten some one’s day.

May   there always be work for your hands to   do;

May your purse always hold a coin or two;

May the sun always shine on your windowpane;

May a rainbow be certain to follow each   rain;

May the hand of a friend always be near you;

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer   you.

Logical thoughts

The door bell or your mobile will always ring when you are in the bathroom.

 

After a long wait for bus no.20, two 20 number buses will always pull in together and the bus which you get in will be crowded than the other.

 

If your exam is tomorrow, there will be a power cut tonight.

 

Irrespective of the direction of the wind, the smoke from the cigarette will always tend to go to the non-smoker

 

Before borrowing money from a friend, decide whether you need more.

 

There are three sides to every argument: your side, my side and the right side.

 

An expert is someone who takes a subject you understand and makes it sound confusing.

 

Many things can be preserved in alcohol. Dignity is not one of them.

 

Never argue with a fool. People might not know the difference.

 

When you’re right, no one remembers. When you’re wrong, no one forgets.

 

Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.

 

Well done is better than well said .

 

Everyone makes mistakes. The trick is to make them when nobody is looking.

 

Where there is a WILL, there is a WAY, Where there is MONEY, there are many WAYS.

 

Where there is MONEY, there are many FRIENDS and RELATIVES.

Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

Mistakes

If a barber makes a mistake, It’s a

If a driver makes a mistake, It is aNew path

If a engineer makes a mistake,It is a

If parents makes a mistake,It is a

If a politician makes a mistake,It is a

If a scientist makes a mistake,It is a

If a tailor makes a mistake,It is a

If a teacher makes a mistake, It is a

If our boss makes a mistake, It is aNew idea

If an employee makes a mistake,It is a Mistake Only